The reasons for my change of Faith
Posted by amad on May 16 2007 22:02:50
[The following is the declaration of faith of Mr. Abdurahman Stanley Anyan:]
DECLARATION
I, Stanley Anyan, of Bromfield, Adel, Leeds, do hereby faithfully and solemnly declare of my own free will that I worship One and only Allah (God) alone; that I believe Muhammed to be His Messenger and Servant; that I respect equally all Prophets - Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc., and that I will live a Muslim life by the help of Allah.
La ilaha ill-Allah, Muhammed-ur-Rasulullah
(There is no god but Allah and Muhammed is His Messenger).
(Sd.) Stanley Anyan
It is in the belief that in it I have at last found the true Religion which brings peace and contentment, that I have turned to Islam.
As a child I was brought up in the Church of England until the age of ten, when I was sent to a Methodist School. On leaving there I went back to the Church, where I was confirmed. After a time, however, on thinking matters over, I realized that there was something lacking, and that I was not getting the contentment and the peace of mind that I desired. So I thought the best thing was to break away and seek elsewhere.
I then tried various other forms of worship including Christian Science, Spiritualism, etc., but I could not anywhere find that for which I sought.
I then began to visit religious section in the Public Library, in the hope that I might find the object of my search in some other religion not represented in my town. I read books on almost every kind of Faith until I came to Islam, and the more I read of Islam, the more certain I became that that I had found something which was more convincing to me in the nature of what I was looking for, than any I had tried before.
Having then decided that Islam was indeed what I wanted, I realized that I must find someone to whom I could appeal for help and advice; but, being at that time unaware of the existence of the Muslim Mission in England, I was rather puzzled as to the best thing to do. Then happened, what seemed to me, rather a strange thing. I was passing a bookshop when I noticed, in the rack outside, a paper which I had not read for some time: so, for no particular reason I bought it. Later on, while casually glancing through it at home, I was very greatly suprised to see in the answers to the Correspondents column, the word "Mohammadanism," and no reading further I realized that it was telling someone else the very thing I was looking for. It gave the address of the Mosque at Woking. It was very strange that I found what I wanted in the last place I expected to find it. It almost seemed to me as if some unseen influence had guided me to it. I wrote to the advertiser and then to the Mosque, and received, by return, helpful literature and guidance for which I am most grateful. It now remains for me to do my utmost to become a true and good follower of Islam.